Planning Your Edible Garden Design

Right now, you might think, "let's just skip the garden design and start digging" -- but I wouldn't recommend it ...

... because most likely you'll end up with something that won't look good and won't work well with your home.

It's SO much more expensive and time-consuming to tear out landscaping and start over than it is to plan it right the first time.

Having a good garden design really is worth it.

If you're thinking of hiring
someone to do the work -- that's fine too. You still need a plan,
because a contractor will have no way of knowing what you want until you figure out what you want.

And that's how planning your garden design will help.

Preparing your garden design

The first thing you'll need to do is take a good look at your home.

Go outside and stand out at the street (or at least 100 feet
away) and really look at it. Take pictures if you like. Walk around and
look at it from the sides and back too.

Bring a notepad and a pencil
and take notes on what you see.

Think about:

What
kind of home do you have? Formal or casual? Brick or wood? Is it
Victorian, Cape Cod, Ranch-style? How is it constructed? Is it a tall,
thin home or a wide sprawling one? You'll want to bring those themes and ideas into your garden layouts.

What kind of
exterior is there? Brick, stucco, adobe, wood, vinyl or metal siding?
What shapes, textures and colors are in the roof and window frames?
Consider repeating those ideas in the garden as well, especially shapes and textures.

What colors are in the materials used to build your home (including your
roof)?

Brick can have a multitude of colors in it; consider all of them
to see which you'd like to use in your
plantings and which would make nice colors for accents.

If you don't like your exterior colors, now
is the time to paint, re-brick, re-roof, or put up new siding, so you
can see at once what colors will work best in your landscape.

Other things to think about:

What sort of
climate do you live in? A desert garden put in a swampy area or an
outdoor tropical garden in a place that is bitterly cold probably isn't
going to do well.

What kind of lot
do you have? Is it flat, or does it have steep slopes? Is it long and
thin, or wide and shallow? Or is it irregularly shaped?

Measuring your lot can help you see exactly
how much room you have to work with. Take notes, or use graph paper to
chart your property.

Are there areas on your property where water tends to pool during the rainy season? (if it's near the house, consult a professional, as you may have grading problems that need fixing)

Water-loving plants are a natural choice for those areas. Also consider putting water features there: ponds, waterfalls, etc.

what zoning or codes are in effect in your area regarding the use and building of ponds, walls, or terracing (for example, in some communities a pond must be enclosed by a high fence, even in the front yard)